NCHV e-Newsletter  March 2010

National Call Center for Homeless Veterans Unveiled
New VA-operated, toll-free hotline

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has founded a National Call Center for Homeless Veterans hotline to ensure that homeless veterans or veterans at risk of homelessness have free, 24/7 access to trained counselors. The hotline is intended to assist homeless veterans and their families; VA medical centers; federal, state and local partners; community agencies; service providers; and others in the community.

To connect to a trained VA staff member, call 1-877-4AID VET (1-877-424-3838).

For more information about the hotline, click here.

VA Estimates 18 Percent Drop in Number of Homeless Veterans
New CHALENG report due out in spring

VA’s Community Homeless Assessment Local Education and Networking Groups (CHALENG) – which conducts a widely cited, annual census of homeless veterans – estimated 107,000 veterans were homeless on a typical night last year. That figure was 131,000 in 2008 and 154,000 in 2007.

The 2009 CHALENG report is projected to be published in spring 2010.

For more information, click here.

NCHV Announces Permanent Supportive Housing Teleconference
Tuesday, March 23, at 2:00 p.m. EDT

NCHV is holding a “Permanent Supportive Housing” teleconference on Tuesday, March 23, at 2:00 p.m. EDT. During this call, Kelly Kent, Associate Director for Corporation for Supportive Housing, will discuss permanent supportive housing, how it differs from transitional housing, services available to tenants, and the different supportive housing models. The call will also address how service providers may access resources to develop permanent supportive housing programs.

To register for this teleconference, email your name, organization and email address to housing@nchv.org. You will receive an automated response with the call-in number and conference ID.

Additionally, NCHV recently held two “HVRP Replicable Models” teleconferences in the month of February; summaries and recordings of those calls are now available here.

National VA Homeless Resource Guide Available
Download in .pdf or .doc format

The “National VA Homeless Resource Guide” is now available on VA’s Homeless Veterans site. The guide contains a list of homeless programs/services with points of contact for each VA medical center. The list is organized by VISN, or Veterans Integrated Service Network.

This is a great resource for finding local contacts, including:
 Homeless coordinators
 HUD/VASH coordinators
 Grant and Per Diem liaisons
 VBA homeless benefit managers
 Women veterans coordinators
 OEF/OIF coordinators

To view the guide in Microsoft Word, click here.

To view the guide as a PDF, click here.

Afterdeployment.org Launches Enhanced Website
Site delivers “wide-ranging content”

March 5 marked a major refresh of Afterdeployment.org. While the site’s essential mission to offer Web-based tools targeting behavioral health issues remains the same, the site’s re-engineered architecture and content management technologies deliver wide-ranging content from diverse sources, all within a common user experience.

The new site, which is focused on the needs of the entire military community, showcases expanded content, easily accessed connections to real-time support, quick health tips and a “geolocator” to find local providers.

To view the site, click here.

Start Preparing for the 2010 NCHV Annual Conference
Conference brochure now available

The 2010 NCHV Annual Conference and Membership Meeting, “Supporting the Five-Year Plan,” will be held June 21-23, 2010, at the Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington, D.C. This is a special opportunity for service providers to access knowledge, training and experience to increase the effectiveness of their organizations in assisting homeless veterans. The conference brochure, including the schedule of sessions, is now available for download here.

A limited number of rooms has been reserved for conference attendees at the discounted government rate. Click here to make your reservations now.

 Capitol Hill visits: Time is set aside on June 22 from 1:30 – 5:00 p.m. for attendees to arrange visits with their congressional representatives to discuss issues and legislation affecting homeless veterans. To learn how to set up your meetings, click here.
 Attention members: We need your photos! To celebrate our 20th year, we’re putting together a slideshow of photographs from the past 20 years. In order to be included, please email photos that show your organization at work to photos@nchv.org.
 Call for entries: Attendees will be able to partake in the Annual NCHV Awards Banquet, where peers in the homeless veterans assistance movement will receive recognition for their accomplishments. Submit your nominations now!

For more information on the annual conference, click here.

Funding Opportunities

The Dana Corporation Foundation primarily supports nonprofit organizations in communities with Dana facilities or Dana subsidiary facilities. The Foundation focuses its grantmaking on the following areas of interest: education; revitalizing neighborhoods and communities; arts and culture; and physical and mental health concerns, which includes health clinics, shelters for the homeless or abused, and intervention centers. For more information on the application process, call 419-887-5141. The Dana Corporation website is available here but does not include information on the Foundation.

The Frank M. Ewing Foundation supports nonprofit organizations nationwide. The Foundation’s areas of interest include: children and youth, the elderly, social services, hunger/homeless, education, health, environment, medical research and animal welfare. General operating and project support are provided. The review process takes place each year in October; requests should be received by the end of August to be considered. For more information on how to apply, call 301-656-7337.

Please do not respond directly to this e-newsletter. Instead, direct your responses to
rbrown@nchv.org.
 
Technical Assistance provided in this e-Newsletter is funded, in part, through a grant from the
U.S. Department of Labor.
National Coalition for Homeless Veterans
333 ½ Pennsylvania Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20003-1148
Mission: The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans will end homelessness among veterans by shaping public policy, promoting collaboration, and building the capacity of service providers.
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